


Homecoming

by adiwriting



Series: Hearing Verse [44]
Category: Glee
Genre: Deaf!Blaine, Glee AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-13
Updated: 2014-04-13
Packaged: 2018-01-19 07:29:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1460911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adiwriting/pseuds/adiwriting
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurt's getting rather tired of always having to be away from home for work.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Homecoming

Over the last four years, Kurt’s grown accustomed to the unpredictable hours of Hollywood. He’s never been a stranger to hard work before, but at least on Broadway, there had been set hours for the most part. Once a show was into performances, his schedule was set in stone. He was always home for breakfast with the girls and Monday night date night with Blaine. Things were crazy, but they were manageable. Predictable. 

There wasn’t anything predictable about Hollywood except for his caffeine addiction, dramatic outbursts from co-stars, and falling asleep to videos from the girls, because he’s never home to tuck them in at night. 

Still, most weeks, he’s able to handle the constant go, go go, with grace. He’s always a professional and never complains. Being an actor is what he’s dreamed of becoming since he was little, and he knows how quickly it can all disappear. He’s seen it happen to more than enough colleagues and friends. He’s appreciative of every opportunity he gets. 

Usually. 

This week, he wants nothing more than to quit his job and go back to being a barista or a personal shopper at the department store. He’s ready to start taking interpreting gigs if that’s what it takes. He’d do just about anything if it means getting out of this town and back home in time for his baby’s birthday. 

Originally, he had a flight planned for Monday night, until he’d been forced to cancel it when his oversensitive and egotistical co-worker had a massive breakdown and the show-runners all but demanded they attended her new movie premier to show their support. If it hadn’t been his last year on the show, he would have quit his job right then and there to be rid of the drama, but he only has six episodes left and he can’t do that to his fans. 

He’d rescheduled the flight for yesterday, only to get called into a photo shoot for the studio that ended up taking the entire day and well into the night. By the time they were set free, the last flight to New York had already left. He’d booked the first flight out this morning, only to wake up to a phone call from one of the PAs informing him the director has completely re-envisioned the mid-season finale and he is needed for reshoots. 

He spends over an hour reshooting a thirty second scene that he’s only in the background of, before he has time to sneak off to his trailer for a very important phone call home. It’s just after 9:30am, which means it’s 12:30pm back home. Mei and Maddy will be in school already, but he knows Blaine should have gotten home from picking Li up at preschool. He presses the call button and waits for two of his favorite people to appear on screen, feeling his stomach start to tie itself into knots. 

HEY! Blaine answers with a huge smile while Li tries to grab at the screen. 

HI, he smiles big, trying to hide how sad he really feels. 

WE’RE ALL SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU, WHEN IS YOUR FLIGHT? Blaine asks while Li starts running around the living room and dancing for him, like she’s always done whenever he calls on their big TV at home. 

I’M REALLY SORRY, BUT I CAN’T MAKE IT HOME. I’M STUCK FILMING, he explains, watching as Blaine’s smile drops. 

HOW LONG? he asks, clearly disappointed, but handling it much better than Kurt did when he first found out. 

I HAVE NO IDEA, he answers honestly. 

Blaine looks behind him to see if Li caught what they were saying, then turns back to give him a significant look. HER BIRTHDAY IS SATURDAY. 

YOU THINK I FORGOT? Kurt signs, feeling a lump growing in his throat. I WANT TO BE THERE.

YOU HAVE TO TELL HER, NOT ME, Blaine signs, to which he can only nod. He’s made Blaine deliver enough bad news in his life about things Kurt can’t make it home for, he’s going to have to explain this one himself. 

Blaine pulls Li into his lap so that she will sit still and talk to Kurt. 

PAPA WANTS TO TELL YOU SOMETHING, OKAY? Blaine asks. Li immediately turns to him with a big smile. 

I’M GOING TO BE A PRINCESS FOR MY BIRTHDAY, she signs. DO YOU WANT TO SEE MY DRESS? 

I’D LOVE TO SEE YOUR DRESS, BUT I NEED TO TALK TO YOU RIGHT NOW, OKAY? he signs, hating that he can’t be there to talk to her in person. Hating that so much of their relationship is build over video calls. It’s not like he’s never home. He’s home at least once a month to see the girls, but it’s not enough. Especially when his visits sometimes last less than twenty-four hours. 

He needs to talk to his agent about taking another Broadway role on so that he can be home more often. Broadway doesn’t pay as well, but they are long past the point where they need to be worrying about money. 

I CAN’T COME HOME FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY, he explains, regretfully. He watches the confusion cross over Li’s beautiful face. 

NO, MY BIRTHDAY IS SATURDAY. YOU CAN COME. DADDY SAID YOU CAN COME, Li signs, looking back and forth between Kurt and Blaine with a look of betrayal. 

MY WORK IS REALLY BUSY AND THEY WON’T LET ME COME HOME. I CAN’T MAKE IT SATURDAY. I’M REALLY SORRY. 

YOU PROMISED, Li signs to Blaine, before running off without even a goodbye. 

When Blaine turns back to face the camera, there’s a look of resignation on his face that Kurt hates to see. It screams of disappointment and anger. 

I NEVER SHOULD HAVE PROMISED HER, Blaine signs. 

IS SHE OKAY? he asks. 

SHE’LL BE FINE. 

I HATE THIS, he groans in frustration. I SHOULD BE THERE WITH YOU GUYS, NOT HERE. 

IT’S ONLY ONE BIRTHDAY, THERE WILL BE MORE, Blaine explains, trying to make him feel better, but it only makes Kurt start crying. 

IT’S ONE BIRTHDAY AND TWO CHRISTMAS EVE’S, AND THEN IT’S NEW YEAR’S EVE, AND OUR LAST THREE ANNIVERSARIES… I’M MISSING EVERYTHING BEING OUT HERE.

WELL DO YOU WANT TO QUIT? Blaine asks. 

OF COURSE NOT, he cries, even though right now, after seeing the look of disappointment on Li’s face, he’s so tempted to just tear up his contracts and take the first flight home. 

THEN THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT, YOU HAVE TO BE THERE TO WORK, Blaine explains, comforting him, even though it should be the other way around. 

I’M A HORRIBLE FATHER, he continues to cry. 

He knows his face will be red and that his eyes will be puffy, causing the makeup team to scream at him, but he can’t help it. He can’t help but picture his beautiful Li all dressed up in her princess dress and crying because her Papa couldn’t make it. Or worse, maybe he’s been gone so much that she won’t even notice. What if his daughters all start forgetting about him slowly, until he’s nothing more than a random man that comes to visit every once in awhile?

YOU’RE NOT A HORRIBLE FATHER, Blaine reassures him. YOU’RE JUST BUSY. 

THAT’S NOT AN EXCUSE. GOD, THAT SOUNDS HORRIBLE, he cries. I’M TOO BUSY FOR MY OWN CHILDREN?

He sobs to Blaine for another half an hour, while Blaine tries to assure him that it’s not a big deal and that the girls will forgive him for not coming home. He realizes that one birthday isn’t the end of the world, it just feels like it’s been one too many missed things at home lately. He doesn’t like being away for so long. There are only so many birthday’s they are going to get with the girls before they grow up and become too cool for their parents. He doesn’t want to miss it all. 

He would have continued to cry to Blaine for another hour, but wardrobe tracks him down and drags him off for a fitting. 

A few hours later, he’s got Ernie, their producer, pulled aside and is begging him for help. 

“Is there anything we can do? I was supposed to be home on Monday.” 

“You know how it is,” Ernie says, though he at least has the decency to look sympathetic. “Can’t you fly them out here?” 

“The girls have already missed too much school this year,” he explains, which is true. 

The school had personally emailed them to explain that Maddy was falling behind in her class because of how many days she’d been pulled out. While spending time together as a family is important, Blaine and Kurt both agree that they can’t put it ahead of the girls education. Especially for Mei, who perpetually struggles with reading due to the fact that she had zero language skills before the age of three. 

“I still don’t understand why you don’t just move them out here?” Ernie says. 

“New York is our home,” he says. 

It’s not that Blaine and he have never had the conversation before, they had. Four years ago, when Kurt first was cast in the role, they’d debated moving the family out to LA, but ultimately they’d decided against it. LA was not the place for them. Mei had just grown comfortable with the teachers at school and was learning so fast, and they were still dealing with Maddy’s colic. Blaine needed help and Kurt wasn’t going to be able to help as much as he wanted to while he was filming. So they’d stayed in New York because it’s where all of their friends lived. Now, the girls were well into school and they didn’t want to uproot their lives anymore than they had to be. 

Besides, Kurt was not about to let his children grow up in Los Angeles of all places. 

“I don’t really know what to tell you. You’re free to go as soon as all of your scenes are done,” Ernie says with a pat on the shoulder before walking off to deal with a problem in the props department. 

“At the rate we’re going, that won’t be until next year,” Kurt complains to himself. 

“This is why I don’t have kids,” his bratty co-star smirks at him while she walks past and it takes everything for him not to snap back at her. 

Six more episodes and he never has to work with any of his co-stars again. 

On Friday, the episode is called to a wrap and Kurt takes just enough time to make sure that it’s for real before rushing to the airport and just barely making the 2pm flight. He’s lucky, the flight attendant informs him, their flight was the last to take off. There’s a storm coming through the East Coast and all later flights are being cancelled. 

There had been no time to call Blaine before the plane had taken off, and by now his phone has completely died and he has no charger. He doesn’t even have a bag on him or a proper winter coat, since he hadn’t planned on flying out today. Hell, he doesn’t even have house keys for when he arrives. Thankfully, they have a twenty-four hour doorman who can let him in if it gets too late. 

He’s hoping it won’t be. It’ll be too late to tuck the girls into bed, but he’s hoping he’ll at least get to see Blaine for a bit. Some alone time together is way overdue. He can’t wait to sleep in his own bed with his husband, again. That’s the way it should always be. 

Kurt’s exhausted by the time his plane touches down at JFK. He’s slept a total of four hours in the last forty-eight and he’s not in the mood for the nasty paparazzi who frantically snap pictures of him and yell out whatever crude comments they think will cause him to snap. Ever since one of his co-stars had gotten arrested for smashing a car window of a pap, they’ve all been looking for the next big scandal and payout. He doesn’t know why they assume it will be him, he never does anything scandal worthy. 

“Mr. Hummel, your car is ready,” Jackson, his driver when he’s in New York, calls out for him. 

Thank God his assistant had ordered a car for him before he left, he wasn’t in the mood to take a cab tonight. 

“I just want to be home,” he sighs over dramatically while Jackson rolls his eyes and directs him towards the car. 

“Well I hate to tell you this, but it’s going to take awhile. The roads are still a mess from the snow earlier,” he explains. 

“Wonderful,” Kurt groans, he wants to text Blaine to wait up for him, but his phone is dead. 

He knows Blaine’s probably been texting him all day with pictures of the girls and what they’ve been up to. It makes him sad to know that there is the usual good night video from the girls just waiting for him and he can’t watch it. However, he knows he’ll be home soon for the real thing, which will be even better. 

It’s close to 1am by the time they finally fight through traffic and pull up to his building. When he makes it up to his apartment with the spare key the front desk had lent him, he doesn’t expect to practically trip over his kids walking through the front door. He doesn’t expect a huge blanket fort to be constructed in his living room. While the girls are all passed out gracelessly across the floor, Blaine is cuddled up under a blanket and sleeping with an unfamiliar stuffed animal. He’s unshaven, which never happens unless he’s too stressed to remember, but he looks the picture of contentment asleep in front of him. 

As adorable as the picture is, he knows that Blaine’s too old to be sleeping on the floor without regretting in it in the morning. He tiptoes across the room, careful not to wake the girls up, who are naturally more attuned to the vibrations of the floor boards. He leans over and gently shakes Blaine awake. 

HEY Kurt signs once Blaine blinks open his eyes enough to wake up. 

YOU’RE HOME, Blaine smiles. He looks exhausted.

SURPRISE, he smiles, his heart near exploding with relief at being able to talk to his husband face to face without having to rely on video phones and internet connections. Blaine grabs the back of his neck to pull him down for a kiss, and Kurt’s not about to complain. 

I THOUGHT YOU HAD WORK, Blaine signs when they pull apart. 

WE WRAPPED THIS MORNING, I’M FREE FOR A FEW DAYS, he signs, lifting the blanket so that they can both cuddle under it. The second Blaine’s head hits his shoulder, it instantly feels like home. 

THE GIRLS WILL BE HAPPY. 

Kurt glances over at them, content with the fact that they don’t look like they’ve grown too much since the last time he saw them all.

WHAT’S THIS? he asks, pointing at the blanket fort that’s consuming their usually clean house. 

LICE, Blaine explains. 

WHAT? he asks, sure that he had to have misunderstood. 

THE GIRLS GOT LICE, Blaine repeats, and Kurt can’t help but cringe. He could deal with a lot of things, but lice was not one of them. He hated bugs. 

WHEN?

I FOUND OUT THIS MORNING, he explains. 

HOW LONG HAVE THEY HAD IT? he asks, looking over at the girls and imagining their head covered in bugs. It makes him shiver, and he can practically feel the bugs crawling all over him ever since Blaine mentioned it. Of all the things they could have caught, why did it have to be lice? 

I DON’T KNOW, Blaine shrugs, and the look of exhaustion now makes perfect sense if this is what Blaine’s been dealing with all day by himself. He feels horrible, these are the kind of things he’s supposed to be home to help for. Blaine’s not supposed to have to take care of three kids by himself. 

DID YOU TREAT IT? DID YOU GET THAT SPECIAL SHAMPOO AND STUFF? he asks, not entirely sure how the entire process works. He’d never had lice as a child. 

IT TOOK FOUR HOURS TO COMB IT OUT OF THEIR HAIR, Blaine explains. I HAVEN’T EVEN FINISHED DE-LICING THE HOUSE. 

POOR BABIES, THAT’S SO GROSS, he comments, feeling guilty that he had to miss all of the excitement this morning. He needs to nominate Blaine for a Father of the Year Award after this. 

IT WAS HORRIBLE, Blaine signs, with a shiver. MADDY’S WAS THE WORST. I THINK SHE MUST HAVE GOTTEN IT AT SCHOOL, THE OTHER TWO WEREN’T AS BAD. 

YOU DIDN’T NOTICE ANYTHING BEFORE TODAY? he asks. 

SHE NEVER COMPLAINED AND HER HAIR’S SO CURLY, I WOULDN’T HAVE SEEN THEM BEFORE, Blaine signs. IT WASN’T UNTIL LI WOUDLN’T STOP SCRATCHING THIS MORNING THAT I NOTICED ANYTHING. 

POOR GIRLS. 

I HAD TO CALL THE SCHOOL NURSE. EMAILS ARE GETTING SENT OUT TO BOTH SCHOOL’S PARENTS, Blaine signs. 

THAT’S EMBARRASSING, he signs. Now everyone is going to think that they don’t bathe their children at night. 

IT WON’T SAY WHO HAD LICE, Blaine explains. BESIDES, MADDY CLEARLY GOT IT FROM SOMEBODY, SO IT’S NOT ENTIRELY OUR FAULT. 

WE NEED TO LECTURE THEM ABOUT NOT GETTING TOO CLOSE TO THEIR FRIENDS, Kurt signs. 

THEY’RE KIDS, IT’S BOUND TO HAPPEN, Blaine pats his shoulder sympathetically. WE CAN’T TELL THEM NEVER TO HUG THEIR FRIENDS JUST BECAUSE OF ONE BOUT OF LICE. 

Kurt rolls his eyes, but he knows that Blaine is right. This is just something that goes along with having children, and with three girls, it was bound to happen to one of them sooner or later. It just so happens, that it happened to all three of them at once. 

SORRY THAT I WASN’T HERE TO HELP, he signs. 

IT’S OKAY, Blaine explains, and he seems oddly calm about the entire thing. Usually, whenever one of the girls is sick and Kurt’s away from home, Blaine will at least give him a hard time about leaving him to deal with the dark side of parenting. Perhaps he’s not in the mood for teasing after Kurt had an emotional breakdown about being a bad father. He’ll take it. He’s feeling bad enough without Blaine’s help. 

SEBASTIAN CAME OVER AND DE-LICED THE FIRST FLOOR WHILE I WAS COMBING OUT THEIR HAIR SO THEY WOULD HAVE A SAFE PLACE TO BE, Blaine explains. I WAS TOO TIRED TO GO THROUGH THE REST OF THE HOUSE, SO FOR NOW WE ARE QUARANTINED HERE. 

DID SEBASTIAN MAKE THE BLANKET FORT? Kurt asks, glad that Blaine has a good friend in the city to come and help him when Kurt can’t be around. Sebastian loves the kids almost as much as they do. 

WE ALL HELPED. I CONVINCED THE GIRLS WE WERE CAMPING INSIDE SO THEY WOULD THINK IT WAS A FUN ADVENTURE AND STOP CRYING, Blaine signs. 

THEN IT DOESN’T SOUND LIKE THE WHOLE DAY WAS COMPLETELY HORRIBLE, Kurt signs, thinking that they probably had fun getting to make a mess of the downstairs. 

THE GIRLS ARE PRETTY TRAUMATIZED. LI’S PARTY IS CANCELLED, he signs, looking disappointed. Kurt’s heart drops. Li has been looking forward to her party for weeks, he can only imagine how that news went over. 

BUT THE LICE IS GONE NOW, THOUGH… he asks, wondering why the party still has to be cancelled. 

AND OUR APARTMENT IS A LICE INFESTED DISASTER WHILE WE WAIT OUT THE 60 HOURS FOR ALL THE LICE TO DIE, Blaine signs. THEY TECHNICALLY CAN’T GO BACK TO SCHOOL FOR ANOTHER FEW DAYS UNTIL WE ARE COMPLETELY SURE THE LICE IS ALL GONE. 

NEVER A DULL MOMENT, he rolls his eyes, shifting around on the floor to make himself more comfortable, pulling a few tea cups out from under him when they start digging into his back. 

I’M SORRY YOU CAME ALL THIS WAY AND WE CAN’T EVEN HAVE HER PARTY, Blaine apologizes. 

I’M NOT. IT’S EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAT IM HERE, NOW, he signs, pulling Blaine back against him so that he can start to massage his shoulders. As tired as Kurt is himself, he knows that Blaine’s got the hardest job in the world, being a stay at home dad to their three girls. 

YEAH? Blaine looks back at him with a surprised smile, like he still can’t believe Kurt is here. 

YEAH, he signs, leaning in for a quick kiss before resuming his massage. Blaine leans back into Kurt as he works his hands over the tense muscles in Blaine’s back. Blaine moans, as he works out a particularly tight knot in his lower back, and it causes Kurt’s mind to go directly into the gutter. It’s been too long since the two of them have had time alone. 

About twenty minutes later, Blaine pulls away with a dopey smile, letting Kurt know that the massage fulfilled it’s purpose.

HOW WAS YOUR DAY? Blaine asks. 

A BIT OF A DISASTER, TOO, he explains. 

Blaine shifts around so that they can see each other better and gives him his full attention, like he always does whenever Kurt wants to talk about something serious. DO YOU WANT TO TELL ME ABOUT IT? 

NO, I THINK I JUST WANT TO SIT HERE AND ENJOY SOME WELL DESERVED TIME WITH MY HUSBAND, he signs. 

They lean in for a kiss and Kurt gently prods at him until his lips open and Kurt’s tongue can explore Blaine’s mouth, trying to remember what he tastes like after so many weeks without. He pulls at Blaine’s shirt, trying to push him up so that the can go to the bedroom for some privacy, but Blaine stops them. 

THE BEDROOM HASN’T BEEN DE-LICED YET, he reminds him, completely killing the mood. 

PERFECT, he rolls his eyes, resigning himself to sleeping on the floor tonight, and going to bed horny. There’s nothing he can do with his kids in the same room. IF I GET THEIR LICE, I’LL PERSONALLY HUNT DOWN WHOEVER GAVE IT TO MADDY AND KILL THEM IN THEIR SLEEP. 

YOU’RE GOING TO KILL A KID? Blaine laughs. 

IF I GET LICE? YEAH, he laughs, but he’s not entirely sure he’s joking. Even the slightest thought of lice makes him itch all over. 

IT’S A MIRACLE I DON’T HAVE IT, Blaine signs. 

ARE YOU SURE? he asks, realizing that if Blaine’s gotten it, it’s already too late for him with all the cuddling they’ve been doing. 

SEBASTIAN CHECKED ME OUT, he assures him. 

GOOD. 

NEXT TIME ONE OF THEM GETS LICE I’M SHAVING THEIR HEAD, Blaine signs, pulling more pillows down off of the couch so that the two of them can settle in for the night. 

YOU WOULDN’T DARE, he signs, not even wanting to picture any of his girls without their lovely hair. 

WATCH ME, Blaine signs, but Kurt knows he’s teasing. Blaine would do anything for their kids. Even if he had to de-lice their hair every single day, he’d do it and never complain about it. They were lucky to have a dad like Blaine. As horrible as Kurt felt about constantly leaving the girls, at least he could rest easy knowing they were always in good hands. 

In the morning, Kurt wakes up extremely early, ignoring how tired he is, so that he can be sure to have breakfast ready when the girls wake up. Blaine has a tendency to let him sleep in when he comes home, and Kurt doesn’t want to miss a single moment with his girls. Especially not today, now that Li is officially four years old. 

He’s flipping french toast, when he feels a little body slam into the back of him and wrap their arms around his legs. He looks down to see little more than a mess of brown curls everywhere, Maddy’s hair is long, wild, and impossible to tame, especially right when she wakes up, since she flails so much in her sleep. 

“Hey, pretty girl,” Kurt says, reaching down to pick her up. 

“Daddy said you weren’t coming home,” she says, burring her face into his neck and wrapping her arms around him so tight that it takes him a moment to maneuver them around so he can actually breathe. 

“I didn’t tell your daddy I was coming home,” he says, holding her close with one arm so that he can continue cooking and not burn their breakfast. “Is it a good surprise?” 

“The bestest,” she says. “Daddy was sad, and Li was crying about you not making her cake. I like it better when you are home. Can you stay forever?” 

“I can stay for four whole days,” he says. 

“Four days?” she asks, her eyes growing wide. “That’s like forever.”

It always gives him a sense of pride to hear her speaking so well. They’ve had their fair share of ignorant comments about how Maddy couldn’t possibly learn to speak if she was being brought up in a predominately Deaf household. But Maddy can sign fluently and speak just as clearly as any other five year old at her school. 

“What do you want to do together?” he asks, setting her down on the counter, so that he has his hands free to finish cooking. 

She holds up four fingers, one for each day and has to think about it.

“I want to go to the zoo, the aquarum, the museum, the park, build a snowman, play at McDonals, ride my bike… can we go to Ohio? Oh! You can come to my school show and tell. You can watch my dance class….” 

Maddy is rambling on about all the things she wants to do when Mei walks into the kitchen with a big smile on her face. 

PAPA, she signs, moving to give him a big hug. 

HEY, BABY, he signs, kissing the top of her head. She’s getting to be so tall now, he finds it hard to believe. To him, she’ll always be that tiny little three year old he first met, dragging Blaine around the playroom and showing off all of her toys. 

YOUR WORK IS FINISHED? she asks. 

FOR A FEW DAYS, YES, he explains, then hands her a stack of plates to help set the table. 

“Maddy, can you help your sister?” 

The girls both move around the kitchen, getting everything set up for when it’s time to eat. He’s happy that they are both so helpful. He’s sure it really helps Blaine when he has to do everything by himself. 

IS YOUR DAD STILL SLEEPING? he asks. 

DAD IS TRYING TO GET LI UP, BUT SHE’S GROUCHY, Mei explains. 

Kurt’s just finishing up the last of the scrambled eggs and plating the french toast when Blaine wanders in with Li sleeping in his arms. 

GOOD MORNING, he signs, walking over to give Blaine a kiss. 

I WAS GOING TO COOK, Blaine glares at him playfully. YOU’VE HAD A LONG WEEK. 

He waves him off. As stressful as his job might be, he’s not about to pretend he has it any harder than Blaine does. 

As Blaine is setting Li down on her seat, she stirs and rubs at her eyes, blinking heavily. She’s never been good with mornings, but Kurt’s sure once she wakes up and realizes that it’s her birthday, she’ll be much more excitable. He hands Blaine the spatula to finish up breakfast, and moves to squat beside Li. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PRINCESS, Kurt signs. 

It takes her a minute or two to get past the confusion of Kurt being home, but soon she’s smiling wide and in his arms. He smiles at Blaine over the top of her head, and watches as his husband helps their other two daughters into their seats and hands them their plates. Li won’t leave his lap, so he ends up eating around her and occasionally convincing her to eat a bite or two of her own. 

IT’S GOOD TO HAVE YOU HOME, Blaine signs, his eyes are wet and Kurt understands. He gets those moments, too. Where everything stops for a minute and you look around and realize how incredibly perfect your life is, how amazing it is that they’ve managed to stay together all of these years and build the family that they have together. 

Once breakfast is finished and the kitchen is clean, they spend the rest of their morning doing their favorite thing in the world — The girls cuddle up on the sofa while Blaine and Kurt act out scenes from the girls favorite movies and books in ASL. It’s always more enjoyable to the girls than simply watching the movies because Li can’t read the captions yet, and Mei always complains that they move too fast for her to understand what’s being said. 

Around noon, Blaine tries to sneak away to finish de-licing the rest of the house, but Kurt convinces him to call a maid service to do it instead. They’ve only got a few days and it’s not worth it to waste that time cleaning. So instead, they all bundle up and head out to the park down the street to play in the snow. They were supposed to have all of Li’s friends over to the house for a party, but thankfully, Kurt’s presence has caused her to seemingly forget about the devastation of her party getting cancelled. They build a snowman together, have a snowball fight, and even build a pretty epic fort. By the time they return home, it’s 7pm and far to late to try and cook anything for dinner. They have cereal for dinner and then Kurt takes the girls upstairs to get ready for bed. 

CAN WE READ FIVE STORIES? Li asks, as she and Maddy try to pick out a book to read. 

YOU CAN READ ONE, he signs. 

CAN WE READ FOUR? Maddy asks, with a sly smile that looks painfully like Blaine, whenever he’s trying to convince Kurt to do something that he’s already said no to. 

YOU CAN EACH PICK ONE BOOK, THAT’S IT, he explains. 

Both girls look genuinely upset, but Kurt reminds them that he’ll be home for the next few days and there will be plenty of time to read more stories together when it’s not so late. They decide on The Rainbow Fish and Corduroy, two of Kurt’s favorites. Both girls are out before Kurt can even finish the second book. He kisses them goodnight and sneaks out to check on Mei. 

When he opens the door, Mei is curled up in her chair and reading a book. 

DID YOU HAVE FUN TODAY? he asks, sitting down at her desk. 

YEAH, she nods, putting her book down and turning to him. I LIKE IT WHEN WE CAN ALL BE TOGETHER. 

ME TOO, he smiles. They talk for a little bit about school and what Mei is learning, then Kurt reminds her that it’s time for bed and tucks her in. 

CAN YOU COME HOME MORE? she asks, just as he’s about to turn out the lights. 

YOU KNOW I COME HOME AS MUCH AS I CAN, he explains. I DON’T LIKE BEING AWAY FROM YOU GUYS. 

YEAH, she sighs. 

He wants to explain that he’s trying to get his next movie to film in New York so that he can be home, but he doesn’t like to tell the girls about things that might not happen. It’s not fair for them to always get their hopes up for things that he has no control over. Instead, he kisses her goodnight and heads back downstairs. 

WHAT IF I QUIT MY JOB? Kurt asks, falling into the couch and laying in Blaine’s lap. 

YOU DON’T WANT TO QUIT, he responds. YOU LOVE YOUR JOB. 

I LOVE MY FAMILY, he counters. 

SCHOOL GETS OUT IN FOUR MONTHS, THEN WE CAN COME BE WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU ARE, Blaine explains. WE JUST HAVE TO BE PATIENT. 

I HATE BEING PATIENT, he whines. 

Blaine just laughs and pushes him up. 

COME ON, IT’S BEDTIME, Blaine says. 

IT’S 8:30…

IT’S 8:30, OUR KIDS ARE ASLEEP, THE HOUSE IS CLEAN, AND I HAVE A LOT OF ENERGY TO BURN. COME ON, IT’S BEDTIME, Blaine says, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. 

I LOVE BEING HOME, he signs as they both practically run up the stairs and into their bedroom. Blaine is careful to lock the door so that the girls don’t walk in on anything embarrassing, then he pushes Kurt down on the bed. 

SO FORCEFUL, he teases. 

I WANT TO SHOW MY HUSBAND HOW MUCH I MISSED HIM, Blaine explains as he climbs up onto the bed and straddles him. 

I’M NOT COMPLAINING, he says. The two spend the next few hours getting reacquainted several times before they fall asleep in a peaceful slumber. 

The next morning, when he’s awakened by little fingers poking him in his face and a laughing husband watching the entire thing unfold. He knows that his decision has been made. He calls his manager and explains that if the movie won’t film in New York, then he’s backing out. It’s not worth it anymore to continue to book roles that force him to be so far away, no matter how great the role is. 

He doesn’t want to be away anymore than he has to be. He’s sick of waking up alone every morning. He’s tired of cooking for one and having conversations with his husband through a screen. He wants to be able to tell his girls bedtime stories and take them to school. He wants to help with homework and cuddle up with his kids when they are feeling sick. He wants to have sex with his husband whenever they want… He just wants to be home. 

He needs to be home. 

It takes a lot of arguing and Kurt has to use his star power more than he is usually comfortable with, but eventually they work it out so that his next few roles are located in the city and Kurt is looking at twenty straight weeks at home — the longest he’s been home since Maddy was born. 

Kurt couldn’t be happier. It’s great to be home.

**Author's Note:**

> DinoJay made this awesome fan art to accompany this fic and you can check it out here:   
> http://adiwriting.tumblr.com/post/81553046883/hearing-verse-artwork-by-dinojay-hearing-verse


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